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Will ICC Punish India For Not Shaking Hands With Pakistan Players After Asia Cup Match?

Debashis Sarangi

India and Pakistan players didn't shake hands [Source: AFP]India and Pakistan players didn't shake hands [Source: AFP]

The high-voltage Asia Cup encounter between India and Pakistan concluded on a sour note, as the Indian players walked straight into the dressing room after captain Suryakumar Yadav finished the match with a six. The Men in Blue avoided the customary act of shaking hands with their opponents, even closing the door of their dressing room after the return of their players. 

Will Indian Team Be Punished By ICC?

The Indian cricket team's gesture aligned with the national sentiment, as fans praised them for boycotting any kind of interaction with their Pakistani counterparts. Meanwhile, several former players from Pakistan condemned the act, highlighting how it was not in the right spirit of the game. 

In fact, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) later issued a statement, confirming that their Asia Cup representative has lodged an official complaint about the Indian team's behaviour. Now the question arises, if the ACC and ICC look into the matter and penalise the Men in Blue?

Despite the ACC governing the Asia Cup, the ICC Code of Conduct applies to the participating teams and players, as the tournament comprises international matches. The ICC has always promoted sportsmanship in its preamble as well as Code of Conduct guidelines. 

However, it's worth mentioning that the act of shaking hands after the game's completion isn't mandatory for the players. It's indeed considered a gesture to show sportsmanship, but the ICC, in its Code of Conduct, doesn't have a separate clause that talks about the repercussions of intentionally skipping the customary post-match handshakes. 

The ICC, in the preamble of its Code of Conduct, talks about respecting the game, teammates, match officials and the umpires. However, although the Indian team didn't shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts, none of their actions or statements had the shades of disrespect for their opponents. 

They were within their rights to skip the customary handshake, so, although the global cricketing fraternity might not be too pleased with the incident, the ICC won't likely punish the Indian team for their behaviour.